Opposition to Jeffrey Sutton's Nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Conclusion

This review of Sutton’s record raises deeply troubling questions about the views he has advocated and the potentially sweeping and damaging implications of those views, both for the fundamental rights of all Americans and for the proper authority of Congress under the Constitution. If approved as a federal appeals court judge, Sutton would have a lifetime appointment to a post with direct authority to help turn these theories into reality. Particularly in light of the tens of thousands of cases decided by the courts of appeals each year, and the relatively few decided by the Supreme Court, that power would be quite significant. As the president of one of the nation’s largest independent living centers for people with disabilities has recently put it, however, “his agenda – and his active pursuit of it – are so far out of the mainstream of the views of the American public and established law that they render Mr. Sutton unqualified to serve as a fair and impartial arbiter of justice.” 16 The nomination of Jeffrey Sutton to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit should be rejected.